Our mission at CIRM is to accelerate stem treatments to patients with unmet medical needs. But what if those needs are not just unmet, they’re also unknown? What happens when those developing treatments never even bother to ask those they are trying to help if this is what they really need, or want? The question … Continue reading How do you know what patients want if you never even ask them?
Disease Areas
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: the future of iPS cells, a biopen for arthritis, shistosomiasis and early embryos
Here are some stem cell stories that caught our eye this past week. Some are groundbreaking science, others are of personal interest to us, and still others are just fun. Discoverer predicts bright clinical future for iPSCs. Shinya Yamanaka, who won the Nobel Prize in 2012 for figuring out how to reprogram adult cells into … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: the future of iPS cells, a biopen for arthritis, shistosomiasis and early embryos
Breast cancer: Piecing together early detection and treatment
Developing therapies for disease is kind of like trying to put together a series of incredibly complex puzzles. Scientists collect lots of “puzzle pieces”, in the form of data, through experiments in the lab and clinic or by reading up on other researchers’ results. Each piece gives researchers a tidbit of insight but the breakthroughs … Continue reading Breast cancer: Piecing together early detection and treatment
In the Race to Cure Blindness, Who Will Cross the Finish Line First Optogenetics or Stem Cells?
Before you read this blog, I wanted to share a photo that I took (yes with my iPhone 6…) last week of a beautiful sunset at Ocean Beach in San Francisco. I’m showing you this picture not to gloat that I live by the ocean, but to make a point. You’re able to enjoy this … Continue reading In the Race to Cure Blindness, Who Will Cross the Finish Line First Optogenetics or Stem Cells?
Patients are the Heroes at the CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Symposium
UCSD’s Catriona Jamieson and patient advocate Sandra Dillon at the CIRM Alpha Clinic Network Symposium Sometimes, when you take a moment to stand back and look at what you have accomplished, you can surprise yourself at how far you have come, and how much you have done in a short space of time. Take the … Continue reading Patients are the Heroes at the CIRM Alpha Stem Cell Clinics Symposium
Stem cell stories that caught our eye: New stem cell type, 3D nerves, bionic heart patches and making bone marrow donation easier
Here are some stem cell stories that caught our eye this past week. Some are groundbreaking science, others are of personal interest to us, and still others are just fun. When half works like the whole. An international team announced this week that they had developed human stem cells able to reproduce with only half … Continue reading Stem cell stories that caught our eye: New stem cell type, 3D nerves, bionic heart patches and making bone marrow donation easier
Rare disease underdogs come out on top at CIRM Board meeting
It seems like an oxymoron but one in ten Americans has a rare disease. With more than 7,000 known rare diseases it’s easy to see how each one could affect thousands of individuals and still be considered a rare or orphan condition. Only 5% of rare diseases have FDA approved therapies People with rare … Continue reading Rare disease underdogs come out on top at CIRM Board meeting
Five Cool Stem Cell Technologies to Tell Your Friends
As a former stem cell scientist turned science communicator, I love answering science questions no matter how complicated or bizarre. The other day my friend asked me about what CRISPR was and how scientists were using it on stem cells to help people. This got me thinking that it would be cool to do a … Continue reading Five Cool Stem Cell Technologies to Tell Your Friends
Taking Steps Toward Personalized Heart Transplants
Over five million Americans have heart failure (HF), a condition in which the heart muscles become too weak to pump an adequate amount of blood, oxygen and nutrients to the body’s other organs. People with heart failure suffer from shortness of breath, chronic weakness and a fifty percent chance of dying within the first five … Continue reading Taking Steps Toward Personalized Heart Transplants
In the Stem Cellar: restoring vision, a visionary on mini-organs and restoring circulation to limbs
Here are some stem cell stories that caught our eye this past week. Some are groundbreaking science, others are of personal interest to us, and still others are just fun. Eyes owned the web this week. When your work includes any form of electronic communication, you worry about how many eyes see a page of … Continue reading In the Stem Cellar: restoring vision, a visionary on mini-organs and restoring circulation to limbs
The Stem Cellar 